Professional Documents
Culture Documents
I've read each of these books at least twice (generally back-to-back), but some
five or more times. These books have profoundly impacted the way I think and live
in the world. I plan to read each of these books several more times in the coming
years.
1. As a Man Thinketh
"The outer conditions of a person's life will always be found to be harmoniously
related to his inner state ... Men do not attract that which they want, but that
which they are." --James Allen
There is no denying it. You are what you think. Your external world is a reflection
of who you are, inside. The most honest personal inventory you can take is simple:
Look at your life.
Whether you're willing to admit it or not, you've planned on being where you
currently are. Everything thought and decision you've made has brought you to this
point.
Becoming the best in the world is not a fluke but a process. It requires a level of
mastery so deep that winning becomes automatic. The harder you train, the more
successful you'll be in the game.
Stupid is the new smart. Every brilliant innovation was once considered a crazy?--?
stupid?--?idea. Don't let the fear of looking stupid hold you back from doing your
life's work.
How was your day today? If not so good, you're future isn't looking so good either.
What you do on a daily basis determines everything about your life. Small things
become big things. The things you do every day?--?whether good or bad?--?compound
over time. If you have good habits, your future will explode with exponential
goodness. If bad, the opposite.
7. Ender's Game
"In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to
defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think it's impossible to
really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them
the way they love themselves." --Orson Scott Card
9. Rework
"Working without a plan may seem scary. But blindly following a plan that has no
relationship with reality is even scarier." --Jason Fried
Don't get caught up in long-term planning, which is little more than guesswork.
Instead, focus on execution and iteration.
Unlike most entrepreneurship books of late that preach minimum viable products and
iterations, Thiel challenges the reader to have definite plans and go big. This
book is the dialectical opposite of Rework, which is why both books are incredible.
Both books are the best I've read on the opposite sides of the same coin.
The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while
the stupid ones are full of confidence. Charles Bukowski
"Love isn't a science. You can't calculate a feeling. When you fall in love with
someone, an 8.5 equals a perfect ten."
?? How I Met Your Mother